Alternate Karachay flag

image by Jaume Ollé, 28 Oct 1996
Server narod.yandex.ru is no longer hosting a page about Karachay flags
we once got reported in FotW-ml. It was in Russian only, and was intitled
"Nas^ Flag : Varianty neoficialhnyq flagov karac^aв" ("Our flag :
Unofficial variants of the Karachay flag") and actually shown not really
variants of any of the two flags we show at , but indeed
three quite different designs, along with text information --
unfortunately very scarce for the first two flags.

I saved a copy of this page back in 2003.03.05 and here's my report on it.
Comments are welcome!

1. «Historical flag of the Karachay»
(Исторический
флаг
Карачая) : White
1:2 flag with two main line art black images on it, taking up roughly the
same area: Above, a stylized twin peak mountain summit profile with eight
"things" lined horizontally by its slope; bellow the shahadda, with
callygraphic details slightly different from the Saudi flag, especially in
the final part. Vertical green stripe (~1/3rd of the flag's width) at the
hoist (see bellow) charged on its top with a yellow crescent and star.

The mountains are be the Elbrus, as in the flags of Karachay-Cherkessia
and Kabard-Balkaria (q.v.), and also shown in the Karachay flag reported
by Jaume on 28 Oct 1996 (source?), and in the "alternative" flag (see
bellow).

The eight "things" are in the same number as the stars in the Aspirant
Chart flag #106 [eba94] and in the "alternative" flag (see bellow).

This design is puzzling as the general layout and the orientation of the
crescent suggests that this image is dexter hoisted (i.e., shown with the
hoist at the viewer’s left hand), but the Arabic inscription reads
correctly -- and that is quite unexpected.

2. «Alternative Karachay flag, comprising eight stars above white Elbrus
on a green background»
("Альтернативный
карачаевский
флаг,
включающий 8
звезд в
полукруге
над белым
Эльбрусом,
на зеленом
полотне.") :
This image was originally 216x431 px so I suspect this comes from Jaume's,
Željko's or Mark's sites, or from a very old copy of FotW-ws (but FWIW,
I'm the RU editor since early 1998 and I never saw this one here). Credit
mostely to the original, as I made only minor changes.

Green 1:2 flag with centered white emblem, consisting of a white ring
added within with four arch sectors whose tips touch each other and the
inner side of the ring's edge, and with a small white disc in the center.

The page documents this emblem as an old Karachay-Balkar traditional
Cosmogonic symbol. The four-sides stand for Geographic and Elemental
quarterings of the Universe, in typical Caucasian mix of ancestral,
byzantine and modern religious (Muslim, Christian Orthodox or Christian
Armenian) influences.

The green color was chosen for its liveliness -- in Karacay-Balkar
language the words "джашил | dz^as^il"
(="green") and "джашау́ |
dz^as^aъ" (="life") are etymological cognates. (That said, it should be
noted that we have seen plenty of non-green Karachay flags…)

This page further shows the official republic flag of Karachay-Cherkessia,
with no additional comments.